


My waves meets your shore

by mostlyclouds



Category: The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Canon Compliant, Eventual Smut, F/F, Flirting, Fluff, One Shot Collection, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Requited Crush, no beta we die like men, probably???, these two are adorable ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-21 15:34:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30023952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mostlyclouds/pseuds/mostlyclouds
Summary: These two are adorable and don't get enough time in the books- so I thought I'd flesh out their relationship a little- also I found out they were married in canon and it filled with so much joy I cannot express.All moments of their relationship placed within canon*am still in the process of getting through the books, so please be patient- esp if I get a detail wrong.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sergei Beznikov/Marie, Tamar Kir-Bataar/Nadia Zhabin
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

Ever since Alina had returned to the Little Palace Nadia’s life had changed overnight. She was glad to see Alina safely back, although the awkwardness that had always surrounded her seemed to have magnified a thousandfold since she had taken over as leader of the second army. It was hard enough trying to befriend the sun-summoner, the Darkling’s favourite, but now the distance between them felt even wider. 

The worst thing was the change with Marie. They had been best friends since their first class together at the Little Palace, their rooms were next to each other and over the years they had shared notes, secrets and occasionally even Kefta- when Nadia occasionally forgot to send hers to be washed. Things had inevitably changed now she was dating Sergei, and she was happy for the two of them, honestly. She just wished that they didn’t have to spend every hour with each other. Now the different Grisha mixed in the Golden Hall, she found herself awkwardly sitting next to them at every meal waiting for a moment when she could chime in. 

That’s how she found herself staring up at the ceiling, at the crack that marred the perfect golden dome while they sat around a Samovar. Maria was practically sitting on Sergei’s lap.   
Saints give me patience, she prayed silently. Looking over as Maria and Sergei kissed, and maybe for my best friend back, she added. 

There was a slight movement on the other side of the hall. Curious she looked over, hoping to see another Summoner that she could chat to. Instead, a short-haired Shu girl entered. That was the other major difference since Alina’s return. The arrival of Tamar Kir-Bataar.

Saints, even through the rough spun tunic Nadia thought she could make out the ripple of muscles of her arms. She swallowed, trying to put the thought aside. There was a slight sheen on the heartrender’s forehead. Had she been out at the training rooms? Nadia wondered. She fought like no one else Nadia had ever seen, her axes as much an extension of her body as her summoning. She didn’t have the physical strength of her twin brother or Alina’s otkazat'sya bodyguard but she was quick and lithe, with a swagger and heartrender's smile that tugged at some string deep within Nadia’s belly. 

Tamar raised an eyebrow at her, and Nadia suddenly realised that she had been staring at her, lost in thought. She coloured, wondering what to do next. She looked back at Marie briefly to see that she was feeding Sergei chocolate. Their chocolate. That they had bought on every trip to the upper city ever since they had first been allowed the leave the Little Palace together as young teenage Grisha girls, sashaying through the fashionable streets filled with beautiful patisseries, bars selling Kvass and jewellers windows glittering with gems. Even with their not inconsiderable allowance from their parents, the chocolates were still obscenely expensive, and obscenely good, and they were theirs. And now Marie was feeding them to Sergei, the pompous heartrender sucking the melted chocolate off her fingers. 

That was the final straw. She stood up and marched over the female warrior, not pausing long enough to think over what she was standing in front of her. She froze. 

“Yes?” Tamar asked her, bemused. Nadia started to fidget, unable to quite look her in the eyes. She got an impression of dark eyelashes against batting against golden skin, and burning amber eyes. 

“I was wondering-” she began falteringly. She forced herself to look up, “If you wanted to join us for some tea?”   
The rogue Grisha shifted uncomfortably,   
“Come to take pity on the stranger?” she asked,   
“No!” Nadia replied a little too quickly, she glanced back over her shoulder to wear Marie and Sergei were sat. Her legs were crossed and Sergei's hand had darted underneath the split of her kefta. She didn’t want to think where it might be. Despite herself, she pulled a face,   
“Honestly you’d be doing me a favour,”   
Tamar’s face split into a grin, revealed sharp white teeth. “I see,” she quirked a slender eyebrow sardonically,   
“Not quite to your taste then?” she asked, following Nadia’s gaze. 

“Saints no” Nadia grimaced. Tamar let out a god honest laugh this time, and the sound sent flutters down to Nadia’s belly. Emboldened she added,   
“Besides I’ve got chocolate if you want some?” 

Tamar looked at her fully this time, golden eyes flicking over her body. She must have liked what she saw because she grinned, then sighed. 

“Unfortunately I’ve got to be on guard duty outside the Sun Saint’s door in five minutes, otherwise I’d join you,”   
She bit her lip, considering Nadia once more, before leaning closer. Nadia could feel her breath against her cheek and thought she could feel her eyelashes batting against her cheek.   
“By the way, Summoner, you look cute when you blush,” 

With a wink she was gone, leaving Nadia staring after her, her cheeks flushed red. Dazed she headed back to Marie, who asked where she’d gone, before yelping and bursting into giggle and Sergei squeezed her thigh.   
Nadia blurted out her goodnights and disappeared to her room, throwing herself on her bed and clutching her pillow to her chest, 

Does she really think I’m cute?

… 

Marie and Nadia were sat on Nadia’s bed, giggling and laughing after a day out in Os Alta. The city held almost limitless charm for both of them. Both came from good noble Grisha stock - well enough of that even the Little Palace’s resident snob Zoya could find no fault with them, but they came from rural areas. The city had been a revelation when they first got to explore it- and both had picked out the houses that they wanted to live in, when they were older, retired from the first army and the wife of rich otkazat'sya playboy noble- although Nadia personally wasn’t so sure about the last part. 

“So,” Marie began after they had both recovered from giggling about seeing one of the bulky heartrenders tripping on their way up to the dormitory, 

“I keep meaning to ask you. What’s with you and that tall Shu guard?” 

“Tolya?” Nadia supplied without thinking about it. Marie shrieked in excitement. “Oh! I knew you liked him. I’m not sure what you see in him, but I’m sure we can snag him for you. Imagine what big babies you’ll have.” 

“What do you mean?” Nadia asked flabbergasted, “I don’t like Tolya!”   
“Then why have you spent so much time in the training hall?” Marie asked in a lilting voice, “I’ve never seen you so eager to have your ass kicked by Botkin before. Don’t think I haven’t seen you mooning while you watch the twins spar,” 

Nadia flushed despite herself, thinking of Tamar and her shining dark hair, brow beaded in sweat and mouth pulled into a sharp grin. That toned body and strong arms, that she just wanted to slam her against a wall and…. 

Maria chortled in joy, “Oh I just knew it! Wait till I tell Sergei!”

“No!” Nadia interjected, “Please don’t tell anyone.” she winced, realising how much like an admission that sounded, “I don’t even like him anyway. Just promise me” She sounded to dejected that in a second Marie had her arms wrapped around her, hugging her fiercely   
“I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to,” her voice was suddenly sincere  
“Thanks,” Nadia replied with a sigh. She forced a cheery grin,   
“How is Sergei by the way?” She didn’t really want to know. They had seen the heartrender only that morning at breakfast, and Marie had talked about him while they bought clothes- do you think Sergei will like this, do you think he will like that.   
Usually, Nadia couldn’t wait to move the subject away from him, but it was an excellent distraction. Marie pouted in mock annoyance- “Don’t think you’ve gotten away that easily” she declared, tossing her chestnut curls before launching into a fast-paced patter about what he had done now that annoyed her. 

Nadia couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her friend. Even now she still pretended to get mad at the Heartrender- to keep him on his toes, according to Marie. But their fast-paced bickering tended to end in making out these days, and more than once Nadia had walked into her room without knocking - as they always had done- to find them pawing at each other's clothes on the bed.   
Even as she complained about him Marie was beaming.   
Still, it took the heat off her, and even as she sat there nodding to Marie’s tale- told with wildly gesticulating hands- she daydreamed about amber eyes and kisses stolen from a slanted grin.


	2. Lake Shore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tamar comes across Nadia enjoying a quiet moment by the lake at the little palace

Tamar Kir-Bataar stalked back from the chapel in the woods to the Little Palace, cursing the heat under her breath. She had never realised Ravka got so hot. The worst part was the complete and utter stillness of the air. Even just walking across the grounds she had broken out into a sweat. The water in the great lake swirled lazily, glinting in the afternoon sun. Its dark waters looked cool and inviting and she wondered if anyone would notice if she jumped in. She looked across and saw summoners practising their lessons. Great, she thought, the only decent body of water and she might be accidentally drowned by a teenage tidemaker. She stuck to the peripheries of the lake, however, enjoying the slight breeze that blew across the lake- although whether it was natural or the product of some practising squaller she was unsure. 

As if from nowhere a figure appeared, sat in a little natural cove area, hidden by the reeds that grew around the bank. The figure had her back to her, but the slender frame and golden hair were familiar.   
Hearing footsteps behind her the girl turned around, shielding her eyes from the bright noonday sun. A pretty grin broke across her face and she waved a friendly greeting. She has dimples, Tamar realised, with a slight jolt. Very cute dimples. 

“Nadia isn’t it?” she hollered by way of greeting. The girl dropped her hand and nodded, her golden hair illuminated by the sun. She looked like a saint with a shimmering halo, or one of the mermaids Kerch sailors liked to tell stories about- sat by the side of the water luring men to their doom. Or women, Tamar added mentally. 

Before she realised it Tamar found she was heading over in her direction. As she got closer she spotted a flask of tea beside her and a single cup that the girl was sipping out of delightedly. 

“Do you mind if I grab that tea now?” she asked awkwardly, thinking of a few days ago in the golden hall. 

“Of course!” Nadia beamed, “Although you’d have to use my cup. If you don’t mind sharing?” she added, a little bashful.   
“I’ve had to share far worse at sea” Tamar grumbled, taking the cup and raising it to her lips. To her surprise it was cool to the touch and tasted cold and sweet, she quirked an eyebrow in surprise, 

“Iced tea,” Nadia explained, “The fabricators make special flasks to keep it cold” Tamar made a mental note to pick one of those up before they left the little palace. Nadia had her kefta pooled out around her, her leather shoes off and breeches rolled up as she dangled her legs in the cool of the water. Tamar quickly followed suit, rolling up the cuffs of the loose trousers she favoured in the hot weather. The cold of the water was almost euphoric against her skin, and she left out a soft sigh of delight.   
The sound made Nadia swallow hard. Tamar passed the cup back to her, and she raised it to her lips, suddenly incredibly conscious of the taller girl's golden gaze on her, and the slight warmth of the cup where Tamar’s lips had been only seconds earlier. 

She made herself continue the conversation, asking slightly squeakily “What was it like at sea?”   
Tamar shrugged, “Depends on the day, the waters, the captain. The sea is unpredictable and she can be miserable and moody and cruel. but -” she added with another sigh, longing suddenly for open waters and the rolling deck underneath her feet, “There is nowhere more free,” Idly, she rolled a blade of grass in her hands, Nadia enraptured with the sound of her voice which seemed to hold the sound of the waves as if it were a conch shell. 

“Besides,” she added with a shrug, “Nikolai was a decent captain,”   
It amazed Nadia how she referred to a royal prince of Ravka, a Lantsov no less, so casually. There had been rumours around the Little Palace about his adventures on the waves - and everyone knew he was friends with the twins but their exact background was a fascinating mystery. 

“Did you ever think about coming to Ravka?” Nadia asked curiously. She’d heard horror stories about what happened to Grisha in other countries, including Shu-Han. 

“I’ve visited before,” Tamar admitted. “It’s a nice enough country but I don’t want to be part of anyone’s army. I didn’t want to answer to some all-powerful Grisha and not be able to come and go” 

“You answer to Nikolai though? To Alina?”

“I choose them,” Tamar answered simply. “And once this fight is over I know they won’t force me to stay and fight pointless border wars with Fjerda or Shu-Han,” It had been years since she had left Shu-Han. She had lived a life afraid of discovery there but the idea of fighting her fellow countrymen disquieted her slightly. 

“Besides, I fight for Alina out of faith. The Darkling is no saint” her words turned bitter as she thought of him.  
She had met the man only briefly but every day aboard the whaling ship he had rankled her. The way he had treated his men, expected blind unquestioning loyalty, the way he had treated Genya and worst of all the way he had treated Alina and Mal. She had seen the way his gaze followed her, the burning obsession in his look. As the only woman on many a voyage, she had known the prickle of an unwanted gaze. Her fingers had twitched at the daggers strapped to her thighs, itching to cut out the offending eyes. 

“We didn’t know” Nadia answered quietly, “We all looked up to him. He protected us”   
Tamar ran a hand through her short hair, “I don’t blame you” she replied, “I-” she hesitated. She barely knew this strange Grisha girl, but there was something about the way those large grey eyes regarded her, without judgement but curiosity and sympathy that had her want to open up,   
“Life isn’t easy as a rogue Grisha” she admitted, “I can understand wanting protection”  
She grinned wickedly then, her usual confidence sliding back into place, “but I’ve got my own” her hand slid to the twin axes slung against her hip, as they always were and Nadia followed them with eyes wide.   
She was impressed, that much was clear. Tamar unsheathed them and spun them lazily in her hands, letting the sunlight catch and glimmer on the sharp blade’s edge. Nadia practically cooed in awe. 

“I’ve never seen a Grisha fight like you,” she said admiringly.

“Maybe one day I’ll teach you” Tamar offered, flicking her axes back into their holsters, and winking at the golden-haired girl. Nadia blushed, looking down at her feet, kicking them in the water, 

“I’d like that”   
“Maybe when it wasn’t so hot” Tamar conceded leaning back and closing her eyes to enjoy the warmth of the sun. A cool breeze washed over her, and she opened one eye to see Nadia with her hands raised. 

“Thanks,” she smiled, shifting to prop her head on her hands. The sunlight was a little less intense now and she could make out the Grisha girl fully, silhouetted by the lake. Her golden hair was wrapped in a braided crown, but a few stubborn strands had fallen out, soft and silky and long. They formed curls that Tamar wanted to wrap around her fingers. She had a sweet little mouth, small but with full plush lips and a pronounced cupid's bow. Ever-present was a smattering of freckles across her nose, but the sun had brought about the little flecks across her arms and decolletage. I wonder, Tamar thought wickedly, how far down they go   
Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt the brush of skin against her bare leg under the water. It sent an almost electric jolt up her. Nadia had turned and was openly staring at her now. Tamar gave her another lazy wink and was gratified to sense the other girl’s heart rate spike.   
Saints, she is something, Tamar thought. 

She propped herself up, sitting up to face her again. Nadia turned her torso slightly to face her head-on. She shifted her legs minutely underwater, and Tamar felt soft skin brushing against hers again. Those full lips were slightly open now.   
Tamar leaned forward and brushed a golden curl that escaped from Nadia’s face, letting the back of her hand softly trace the other girl’s cheek. It was velvety soft and warm. The mid-afternoon sun illuminated long golden lashes and lit her in hues like a DeKappel painting. 

From the Little Palace, a Bell rang out the time. Tamar pulled away with a sigh. Alina had dinner tonight with Nikolai and some lordlings and she was on duty. She’d have to wash and put on clean clothes and there definitely wasn’t time for kissing Grisha girls by the lake. 

“Regrettably, duty calls,” she said, lifting Nadia’s hand with a flourish and leaving a lingering kiss on her knuckles.   
Once again Nadia found herself staring after the retreating figure, her fingers and cheek still burning from her touch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With the new pictures coming out of the cast and the designs I've had a look out to see if there is a Nadia- as the only description we have of her is in KoS- as blonde and sharp featured. For now this is the appearance I'm going with - and giving her grey eyes and perhaps more freckles than are implied. If the casting does change this then I may go back and alter it. 
> 
> There is one still that has been released of Alina sitting in her blue kefta with two other girls- one of which looks like the actress listed as Marie on IMDB, and is wearing Inferni robes. The other girl looks like she's wearing blue on blue- which makes me think she might be a new/ different character?? But also it would make sense for her to be Nadia based on the situation?   
> Any thoughts?


End file.
